SXSW 2013: where technology meets humanity

The South by Southwest Interactive Conference & Festival is described as
the “unique convergence of original music, independent films and emerging
technologies....the premier destination for discovery”.

South by Southwest Interactive has seen a number of innovative apps launch in previous years

I’m here in Austin, Texas, ready for the opening and conscious that I’m crossing a number of very weird lines.

Firstly, there’s the strange geographical delineation of Texas – with its abrupt 90 degree side, it seems like the State itself somehow represents the collision of analogue and digital about to take place at its cultural heart. Next, there’s the record-breaking number of devices and chargers I have chosen to mule to the U.S. to record and report the sights and sounds of one of the world’s largest interactive festivals. And finally, there’s South by Southwest itself – as a music, film and interactive gathering, it’s the ultimate nexus of ‘art meets science’.

That’s the reason I gave to my boss back at marketing agency Billington Cartmell in London – who understandably said “can’t we just Google it?” – for going. It’s not just about the new tech, or ‘how’ we do things. It’s about meeting people and sharing the connective human ideas behind the tech – ‘why’ we do things. That’s what I'm excited to share first-hand and what I know will inform and inspire my agency’s marketing campaigns.

For me, SXSW represents a unique opportunity to challenge a recent Collision debate that there are tech people, and then there are ideas people, and they don’t work more closely together, because they are fundamentally different animals. If there is truth in the notion that we occupy divisive, entrenched positions, then SXSW represents the football match in no man’s land.

The lens I hope to view the festival through is this: how technology meets its most challenging interface – humanity. Critically, what it means for us to move towards a truly ‘superhuman’ experience. What Dr Brian Johnson (Intel’s Futurist) calls ‘zero point’ computing where everything is connected and progresses ‘beyond screens’ into ‘humanised’, wearable, or even implanted technology.

I am fascinated by this concept of the ‘augmented self’ and what it will mean for evolving human behaviours and society, so I am particularly looking forward to learning more from sessions such as 'Can Ad Agencies & Brands Humanise Technology?' and 'Now You See Me: The Future of Ambient Location'.

That's because beyond the ‘internet of things’ lies the ‘internet of people’ – a potential ‘Newmanity’, or conversely a dystopia of universally connected society. This includes ambient awareness of where we go and why, and with that comes questions of how that omniscient data is used (and importantly by whom), to best add value to our real lives.

By extrapolation, the potential supranational shared experiences as a species is incredible. Facebook today could seem like Web 1.0 compared with sharing a real-time feed through the eyes of others around the world.

I hope that, in a week’s time, I will know much more about how the future is shaping up and will have more informed opinions of what will fly and what will clash with people. At the very least – in the none too distant future – I hope to carry fewer chargers.